The liberal Zionist group J Street cannot endorse Ben & Jerry’s decision to stop selling in the occupied territories even as it seems to try to look as if it does. It is balancing the official Jewish community that is angered by Ben & Jerry’s, and young Jews who see Israel as practicing “apartheid.” It’s a straddle with political risks.

It never crossed the minds of most pundits or politicians or Democrats to be critical of Blinken’s pathologically dishonest response to Rep. Ilhan Omar about U.S. and Israeli accountability. His response was normal, entirely mainstream, precisely because Israel is an apartheid state and the US is a superpower and neither is accountable to their victims and we aren’t supposed to notice the lack of accountability.

On May 27th the UN Human Rights Council voted to establish an ongoing commission of inquiry to report on rights violations in Israel, the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip. While this is very similar to the many commissions that have failed to hold Israel accountable in the past, Lori Allen says this one may be different due to the political context in which it is emerging.

Palestinian engagement with international legal tribunals can help build global consciousness, but ultimately the law cannot serve as a substitute for the work of social movements in dismantling Israeli colonial-apartheid.

Tom Friedman says that Israel and the US are in the same boat, trying to build “pluralistic.. idealistic” societies. This is a rhetorical strategy to suppress the apartheid charge against Israel from a leading human rights group. And Friedman has freely acknowledged that his job entails promoting Israel. “Israel had me at hello,” he has said.

The Biden administration lifted sanctions on two ICC prosecutors that had been imposed by former president Donald Trump. The Israel lobby isn’t happy.

The Jewish National Fund is a linchpin of the system that enforces superior rights for Jews over Palestinians, whether inside Israel or in the occupied territory. A recent JNF decision to start publicly funding projects in the West Bank just makes that role more clear. Now the question becomes — will its international supporters stand by the organization?

Dan Shapiro, Obama’s former ambassador to Israel, continues to serve as a mouthpiece for the Israeli government with this laughable claim: “Israel… has a long record of conducting investigations of actions of its own military… it’s quite professional.”

Israeli Labor leader Merav Michaeli on the ICC move to investigate Israel for war crimes: “It is a very, very problematic decision. It does not promote peace in any way. It does not promote a solution for the two state solution. It escalates the conflict.” Though Michaeli says the two-state solution is “completely not on the agenda” for voters in the March 23 election.

J Street, Americans for Peace Now and New Israel Fund issue wishywashy statements on the ICC moving forward to investigate Israeli war crimes. It’s sad it’s come to this– “heartbreaking,” “sobering,” a “tragedy.” And J Street feels deep sympathy for Israeli families who fear for their children in the Israeli army. But while they say Israel must be held accountable, they can’t approve the ICC investigation.